Launch of “Positioning Ghana”
“Positioning Ghana”, a strategic contribution to the public debate ahead of the elections. The French Embassy through Institut Français du Ghana and IFRA Nigeria financed and supported the printing of an important book entitled “Positioning Ghana – Challenges and Innovations”.
The French embassy in Ghana through Institut Français financed and supported the printing of a book entitled “Positioning Ghana – Challenges and innovations” which was launched on Friday, July 8, 2016 at the Maison Française Legon, a book meant to stimulate thinking about the dynamic strategies needed to place Ghana’s development agenda on a sounder footing.
At the launch ceremony on Friday, the editor of the book, Professor Emerita Nana Araba Apt expressed gratitude to the French Embassy in Ghana, IFRA- Nigeria (French institute for research in Africa), the Vice-Chancellor of University of Ghana, Prof. Ernest Ayitey (who wrote the foreword of the book) and the contributors. She said, even though, there were delays in publishing the book, it will hopefully stimulate development discussion that would improve the livelihood of people in Ghana.
The book she calls the “ideas revolution” and also the “beginning of sourcing ideas from the general populace about how things can be done differently and perhaps better, efficiently and cost effective”, the book was as a result of contributions from 19 researchers comprising of sociologists, economists, educationists, etc. The book calls on government and policy planners to diversify policy actions in these sectors (agriculture, health, education, science and technology, economy etc.) and be ready to accommodate private views on policy issues, and to desists from “this is how we have done it in the past” sentiments.
Speaking at the launched, the French Ambassador to Ghana, H.E. François Pujolas said “the book covers important issues, at the core of the French cooperation with Ghana such as good governance, the fight against corruption and for human rights, education and especially the teaching of French for regional integration, health, and finally technological innovations”. He called on authors and participants to continue these kind of researches and that France will always be happy to share in order to identify joint projects supporting the development of Ghana and strengthening its relations with France.
The Director of the National Development Planning Committee, Dr. Nii Moi Thompson, who also chaired the launch, stated that “the book has come at the right, when Ghana’s long term development planning agenda is in progress,”.
The book also identifies how Ghana can plan realistically, devoid of partisan sentiments, applying other means to achieve social goals using local solutions to resolve perceived challenges.
Also present at the event were the Dr. Jean-Luc Mure, (Head of Cooperation of the French Embassy), Dr. Etienne Aucouturier, (Director of the Maison Française Legon), James Asare Adjei (President of Association of Ghana Industries), Frédéric Dart (Director of Alliance Française Accra) and Anis Haffar (Founder of Gate Institute).
Gracing the occasion with their stunning cultural performances were Abibigroma, from the University of Ghana’s School of Performing Arts.